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Click here for a printable list of all the Hottest Graphic Novels of Summer 2011

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MAY

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Shugo Chara! 10
by Peach-Pit
Kodansha
ISBN 978-1-935429-93-7

Amu is a fifth grader at Seiyo academy. Her classmates look up to her because she's cool and super stylish. But Amu doesn't see herself that way. She's a shy and stubborn girl who can't open up emotionally to anyone else. Deep inside, she's not really happy with who she is. One day, Amu makes a wish to be reborn as the kind of girl she really wants to be. The next morning, she finds three strange looking eggs in her bed. When the eggs hatch, three small girls emerge, and they grant Amu magic powers. Now can Amu become the girl she's always dreamed of being?

 

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JUNE

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Level Up
by Gene Luen Yang and Thien Pham
First Second
ISBN 978-1596432352
On sale June 7

All Dennis wants to do is play video games. But his parents want him to grow up to be a doctor. What should he choose?

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Congress of the Animals
by Jim Woodring
Fantagraphics Books
ISBN 978-1606994375
On sale June 15

Readers of the “Frank” stories know that The unifactor is in control of everything that happens to the characters that abide there, and that however extreme the experiences they undergo may be, in the end nothing really changes. That goes triple for Frank himself, who is kept in a state of total ineducability by the unseen forces of that haunted realm. And so the question arises: What would happen if Frank were to leave The unifactor?

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Isle of 100,000 Graves
by Jason and Fabien Vehlmann
Fantagraphics Books
ISBN 978-1606994429
On sale June 15

Five years ago, little Gwenny’s father found, inside a bottle, a map with instructions on how to reach the mysterious Isle of 100,000 Graves and its legendary treasures—and then he vanished. Now Gwenny, having stumbled across another bottle-shipped map, enlists the dubious help of a shipful of pirates, sets out to find the island, and her long-lost dad.

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JULY

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Sidekicks
by Dan Santat
Arthur A. Levine
ISBN 978-0439298117
On sale July 1

Captain Amazing, superhero and savior of Metro City, needs a sidekick. He’s out battling archvillains, catching thieves, and helping little old ladies cross the street. He doesn’t even have time for his house full of pets: a dog, a cat, a mouse and a gecko. His pets all agree—he does need a sidekick, and it should be one of them! Afterall the sidekick would be able to have valuable one-on-one time with Captain Amazing. But each of them thinks that they are the clear choice as sidekick—how will they decide? Get ready for a sibling rivalry royale as pets with superpowers duke it out for the one thing they all want—a super family.

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Defiance: Resistance, Book 2
by Carla Jablonski and Leland Purvis
First Second
ISBN 9781596432925
On sale July 19

The sequel to Sydney Taylor Honor recipient Resistance, Defiance continues the saga of three kids and their efforts to help defend their country during WWII.

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Hera
by George O'Connor
First Second
ISBN 978-1596434332
On sale July 19

The next volume in the Olympians series; the story of Hera, Queen of the Gods.

 

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AUGUST

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Bad Island
by Doug TenNapel
Graphix/Scholastic
ISBN 978-0545314800
On sale August 1

When a family takes a boating trip, the last thing they expect is to be shipwrecked on an island—especially an island with weird, otherworldly plants and animals. Now what started out as a bad vacation turns into a terrible one as Lyle, Karen, and their two kids, Janie and Reese, must find a way off the island while they dodge its strange and dangerous inhabitants. Is the island alive? Is it from another world? In this rousing, Swiss-Family-Robinson tale with a twist, the answers to these questions could save them…or spell their doom.

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Murder by High Tide
by M. Tillieux
Fantragraphics Books
ISBN 978-1-60699-451-1
On sale August 3

Another never-before-translated classic from the Golden Age of Franco-Belgian comics, finally brought to American readers. Imagine the beautifully crisp images of Hergé (Tintin) put in service of a series of wise-cracking, fast-paced detective stories—punctuated with scenes of spectacular vehicular mayhem (including in this volume a dockside pursuit via car and bulldozer), and you’ll see why 50 years later  these stories starring detective Gil Jordan are still considered masterpieces in Europe.

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Americus
by MK Reed, and Jonathan Hill
First Second
ISBN 978-1596436015
On sale August 30

Neal Barton just wants to read in peace. Unluckily for him, some local Christian activitsts are trying to get his favorite fantasy series banned from the Americus public library on grounds of immoral content and heresy. Something has to be done, and it looks like quiet, shy Neal is going to have to do it. With youth services librarian Charlotte Murphy at his back, Neal finds himself leading the charge to defend the mega-bestselling fantasy series that makes his life worth living.

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Gunnerkrigg Court, Vol. 3: Reason
by Tom Siddell
Archaia
ISBN 978-1936393237
On sale August 30

In the third volume of this critically acclaimed webcomic series, Annie and Kat continue to uncover terrible secrets about their school, Gunnerkrigg Court, while relationships grow and the boundaries of reality are blurred. In the meantime, Coyote begins to show that things in the forest are not quite what they seem! Plus, Annie's second year at the Court comes to a dramatic end.

 

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SEPTEMBER

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Amulet, Book Four: The Last Council
by Kazu Kibuishi
Graphix/Scholastic
ISBN 978-0545208871
On sale September 1

In the fourth book in Eisner-nominated artist Kazu Kibuishi’s New York Times bestselling adventure Amulet, Emily, Navin, and the crew arrive in the lost city of Cielis, but they soon realize it is not the utopia they expected. Emily is forced to fight for her life in a series of tests that will determine who among the new generation of young Stonekeepers with join the Guardian Council. As the number of competitors gets smaller, a terrible secret is uncovered—one that will change the lives of our heroes forever.

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Pilot and Huxley: The Next Adventure
by Dan McGuiness
Graphix/Scholastic
ISBN 978-0545268455
On sale September 1

The second title in Australian comic creator Dan McGuiness’s series, starring boys Pilot and Huxley. They’re off on their next weird adventure—this time in a bizarre world where ghouls and zombies in Halloween Land are friendly, and Santa and his elves in Christmas Land are evil. Will the boys make it out alive? Can they find a way back to earth? Is a bowl of noodles a deadly weapon? Find out in this quirky comic!

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Amelia Rules: The Meaning of Life...and Other Stuff
by Jimmy Gownley
Simon & Schuster
ISBN 978-1416986126
On sale September 6

Some things in life seem so broken, they can't possibly be fixed, and right now, just about everything is falling apart for Amelia. Aunt Tanner is away on tour; Amelia’s spending more time in the principal’s office; Joan’s dad is injured on his tour of duty just before he is supposed to come home; and Amelia’s friends all seem to be moving in different directions. When a younger group of kids turn up, idolizing G.A.S.P and forming their own club: "Young Imaginative Kids Emulating Superheroes (Y.I.K.E.S.),” G.A.S.P. attempts to rebuild their clubhouse. Amelia thinks it’s beyond repair, but Turnip Brain says that when that happens, you need to pick up the pieces and make something new.

 

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